Practice Management Alert

At MGMA’s Financial Management and Payer Contracting conference, Stephen Dickens, JD, FACMPE, Assistant Vice President of Medical Practice Services at State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company, explained the elements of an effective Code of Conduct for practices (especially physicians) to uphold. “The Code of Conduct is about creating culture. It describes how employees get along, the language they use, and how patients are treated. When you create a set of overarching rules, it allows the practice to police everyone,” Dickens says. Assign a small group of physicians and staff to create the Code of Conduct that follows the guidelines below:

An effective Code of Conduct:

• Defines acceptable and unacceptable behavior
• Eliminates discipline issues
• Is developed via group consensus
• Includes clear guidelines
• Is adopted by your board, established as a formal policy, referenced in physician contracts, and applied consistently.

Specifically, a Code of Conduct outlines:

• Appropriate conduct (respectful, courteous, professional, cooperative)
• Inappropriate conduct (threatening or abusive language, profanity, degrading comments, inappro­priate physical contact, refusal to abide by the Code)
• Disciplinary Guidelines (Who disciplines, what are the consequences, and how are the consequences enforced?)